“We look at the facts and circumstances of each case and we determine whether somebody has committed a crime and whether it’s appropriate to hold them accountable,” Rosenstein said on Fox.

And if those leaking classified information turn out to be White House officials or members of Congress, Rosenstein said they’d be fair game.

“What we need to look at is the facts and circumstances. What was the potential harm caused by the leak and what were the circumstances. That’s more important to us than who it is who is the leaker,” he said.

“If we identify somebody – no matter what their position is – if they violated the law and that case warrants prosecution, we’ll prosecute.”

Asked by host Chris Wallace if reporters who publish classified information can be prosecuted, Rosenstein said that’s not the intent of the DOJ.

“Generally speaking, reporters who publish information are not committing a crime,” he said. “There might be a circumstance where they do. I haven’t seen any of those to date. …

In the event that there were a case where a reporter is purposely violating the law, they might be a suspect as well. But that’s not our goal here. Our goal is to prevent the leaks.”